Knitting by: Sarah

Hannah knits a sweater.

My older sister taught herself to
knit from a book when she was quite young and, as has often been the case, she
taught me. I was delighted by how I could turn long strands of yarn into solid
blocks of regular, neat looking material. Being mirror images of each other,
knit and purl intrigued me and I would spend days playing around with the two
stitches, seeing what different looks I could make. The button holes Hannah
learned to make right in the knitting were greatly admired by me, but it was
beyond my capability to follow her in her more complicated endeavors. We had
only one simple pattern, a dishcloth, which I easily memorized and turned out a
sufficient supply for my hope chest. I was too young to be able to follow a
pattern of any sort by myself and I was not ingenious enough to put increase,
decrease and knit stitches together to make my own things, so gradually my
needles found a quiet place as other exciting new projects filled my time.

Ammi knits a hat.

It wasn't until a couple of years
ago that I again took out my needles. They were now a far greater collection,
since I had kept adding to them through the years, knowing that someday I would
knit something big. My first attempt at re-familiarizing myself with knitting
was a failure. The simple techniques eluded me, so I got out the book and step
by step cast on and began to knit. Suddenly that skill which I had mastered
when only six or seven came flooding back. Book forgotten, I went on to purl,
increase and decrease, the only stitches I knew. They were all there! What I
had learned so long ago in those impressionable years was still mine, and I
expect they always will be! Now I could read a pattern and keep track of my
place, now I could learn anything further I needed to know, now I could knit
something big.

Julia knits a dish cloth.

For lack of simple patterns that
young children can easily memorize, our little ones do not make many knit items.
However, because knitting is so simple, we do introduce the basics to them
while they are quiet young through our dishcloth pattern. As they grow up and
become more coordinated and self-assured we encourage them to try more
complicated patterns. Once they have made at least one other item they may
choose that they don't want to go on, and that's fine, we all enjoy some things
over others, but they will have a basic understanding of knitting and will be
able to pick it up again easily if they ever decide to do so.

Ammi

Our 'learning to knit' dish cloth.

I started knitting when I was seven
years old. Hannah helped me learn and when I knew the row I could do it all by
myself. I only use yarn that the big girls aren't going to use on other
projects since dishcloths get dirty so fast. There was not much of a pretty
blue yarn so I made one dishcloth out of it. It is my favorite one. I can knit
a dishcloth in about half an hour unless I make a mistake like dropping a
stitch. When I get older and can read a pattern, I will knit other things. One
of the sweaters my sister Sarah made is very nice. I think I will make some too
when I grow up.

Julia

Julia knits a hat.

Not long ago I knit a hat for one of
my brothers. Within the first ten rows, (these are the hardest) as I was swapping
between knit and purl, I got mixed up and knitted where I should have purled.
However, this was not a big problem because this part of the hat forms the
inside, since the hat is two layers thick, so my mistake is never seen. If you
teach your children to knit, use a forgiving pattern like this one.

Hannah

Hannah knits yet another sweater.

Sometimes you'll get cotton or wool
yarn that is very fine (the size of string). This was the case for us when we
were given spools of yarn used on knitting machines. The solution is really
quite simple. We combine several threads into one, thus creating yarn that is
2, 3, even 5 times heavier than the original product. In the case of the
mittens I made, I combined four different yarns (blue, green, yellow and
white) creating a multi-colored yarn. It was a lot of fun making those mittens.
The right hand mitten has a flap which allows me to use my fingers. It
was a lot of extra work so I decided to make the left mitten plain.

Sarah

Sarah's Fair Isle pattern.

For years color has captivated my
imagination. In flower arranging, painting, quilt designing, contrasting
accents on clothing, I enjoy playing with color, trying something new, learning
what looks good and what doesn't. That's what attracted me to Fair Isle
knitting, the complexity of color, it intrigued me. The way several values of
two, three even four different colors could be made into a beautifully complex
sequence captured my imagination. I wanted to be able to do that. Only one book
that I found went into the details of Fair Isle knitting. From it I learned
about designing my own Fair Isle sweaters, from authentic color theory to the
layout of the multiple designs so that they met perfectly on the size of
sweater being made, to

Sarah knits in the round.

holding and using the two colors of yarn in each row.
Once I felt that I understood the basics of this specific style I began putting
the ideas together in my own sweater. The colors that I had were somewhat
limited, which meant I had to be more creative, I had to use colors which I
probably wouldn't have used if I had the option. That, I found, was for me the
key to creating lovely sequences. I had to look at the unlikely colors, the odd
tones, the mixes, in order to be able to create eye appealing and attractive
pieces. It took me months of knitting single color schemes, and background and
pattern schemes together, before I finally came up with what I wanted. I was
learning more of the methods employed now that I was actually holding needles
and yarn.

Sarah knits intricate color patterns.

Before launching into a full sweater, I made a pair of gloves for my
brother, to get comfortable knitting in the round and knitting two colors at
once. Knitting in the round turned out to be simpler than I had expected since
you don't have to swap between knit and purl on every other row. During the
process I also became familiar with leaving some stitches on a stitch holder to
pick up later for making the thumb and fingers. The colors were not complex
enough to satisfy my desire for intricacy, but it was a start. By the time I
finished the gloves I was familiar with the techniques and ready for the
sweater.

Wool gloves in action.

The sweater I had designed was a
men's pullover in greens, blues, browns and grays, with a single line of maroon
in one of the repeat bands to add a spark. Getting through the waist ribbing, I
began the first design row, only to decide that the multi-colored ribbing
wasn't what I wanted. I ripped it all out. This time, a solid color waist band,
and then back to the design rows. Knitting went well, though slightly puckery from making the floating

The sweater progresses.

colors on the inside too short, till after completing
nearly two full rows of designs I laid it out and took a good look. My growing
suspicion that the lightest green was simply not right couldn't be denied. Mom
agreed. It was distractingly wrong, and I knew what I had to do. It took several
days to rip out and roll up months worth of knitting, but I was determined that when I was done I would be completely happy with my work.
Back
in the box of yarn, I worked out a substitute and for the third time set to
work. This time it was what I wanted and the sweater progressed steadily.

I have not yet finished it but I
already know that there is a lot more I will do on my next sweater. There will
be even greater color complexity, more colors, more interest. That's what draws
me!

Hannah

Hannah wears her knit collar.

If you have ever made lace, you know
it can be a slow process that takes a bit to get used to. We prefer to crochet
our lace, but on one occasion I knit two matching collars, one for Sarah and
one for myself. We do most of our handwork during family Bible study time and I
found that using 12" needles on a crowded couch was just too much. With
only ten or twenty stitches per row I was constantly swapping the needles from
my left hand to my right. If I were going to knit lace very often, I think I'd
like a pair of knitting needles that were only about 5" long!

You will notice as you look at
different patterns that there are very different looks to lace depending on
whether they are knit, crocheted or tatted. In our family we like the look of
crocheted lace best. You may find that you develop very particular tastes for
certain styles of lace as well. Perhaps your taste will be for lace that's
already made. That's all right, too! Just enjoy what you do and make things
that are practical. I don't think you will ever regret it. The season of life
for handwork will pass much quicker than you expect.

Sarah

Sarah's spider web of colors.

Once your children can knit there is
so much variety, so many options of what to do with their new skill, let them
explore and find what interests them. If it's what they want to do they will
find a way to do it no matter how difficult, no matter how many times they must
try again. They will need encouragement, at times they may even need you to
firmly force them on, but in the end, when it's finished, let it be something
they will personally be glad they've done.

Ammi learns to knit.

So, you've never done it yourself?
Don't hold your children (or yourself) to what you already know. There are so
many books, so many people who would be happy to help you. The personal
discipline of taking on a new project and taking it to completion is such a
valuable ability, teach it to your children. There are lots of ways to
inexpensively get supplies, so starting a new project doesn't have to be
expensive. You can advertise for yarn (or whatever you need) in many local
papers, thrift shops often have craft tools and supplies, and you can reclaim
yarn from second hand sweaters as we show in the recycling/reclaiming section.
Be creative, use what you have!

Julia takes on a new project.

Remember, it's not bad to fail. So
much more is learned when you fail and learn from it, than when you succeed and
don't think about what you've done. Life is full of disappointments and your
kids can learn to conquer their disappointments, learn from them and go on, all
in the safety of home. If, like my sweater, their work isn't turning out right,
encourage them to discover why, take it out and try again. The first time is
always the hardest, but it is also the most important. Without it there is
never a second time. So try, try and try again. Those who persevere, succeed!